Chapter 168: Survival, or Death?

"Dad..."

In the dungeon, Jian Changsheng slowly opened his eyes.

Dim, hazy moonlight spilled from the steel window above, like a patch of white snow spread on the damp ground. Those gray, empty eyes stared at the concrete ceiling for a long time before reason and thought slowly returned... like a computer that had been shut down for too long, slowly and erratically rebooting amidst the buzzing of broken parts.

He remembered. This was the secret underground of the Star Chamber of Commerce, a forbidden area under strict guard, a sturdy cell built of steel and concrete...

And he was a prisoner of the Star Chamber of Commerce.

"Star Chamber of Commerce... The Yan family!!" Jian Changsheng lay on the ground like a corpse, his chest heaving violently. Endless anger surged from the bottom of his heart, wishing he could burn down the entire cell.

Ever since leaving the Ancient Military Path, his memory had been fragmented. First, he was paddling desperately on the Frozen Sea, then he fell into a coma. When he woke up, he was already on the torture table of the Star Chamber of Commerce, preparing for soul-shattering evidence gathering... After that, it was one painful torture after another, enough to tear his soul apart.

It was a pain Jian Changsheng had never experienced before. He felt countless times that he was about to lose himself in the agony of his soul, but there was always a force pulling him back in the dark. His will was reshaped in the repeated shattering of his soul, over and over again.

Jian Changsheng even felt that compared to the pain he had experienced, the oil pans or slow slicing in hell were just child's play.

He clenched his fists in anger, but then helplessly loosened them... He stared blankly at the hazy moonlight spilling from above, and the thought of committing suicide to end it all even rose in his mind.

No... he couldn't die yet. He had finally regained the talent that belonged to him, finally picked up his life. Not only had he failed to start a life of counterattack, he hadn't even been able to go home to see his father. How could he just die here?

But what if he lived? The Star Chamber of Commerce already knew he had killed Yan Xicai and would never let him leave alive. Perhaps what awaited him would be endless torture until his soul was shattered and dissipated, leading to the most miserable death.

Just as Jian Changsheng was struggling, the moonlight spilling from the top of the dungeon flickered. In the interplay of light and shadow, it was as if a mysterious hand was playing with the moonlight, which was as thin as silk.

Jian Changsheng froze. He turned his head with difficulty and followed the moonlight to that corner of the clean ground...

Fine dust floated in the moonlight. A clown pattern, shrouded in shadow, appeared on the ground. His joints were connected to the void by threads, like a puppet being manipulated. His face was hideous and angry, his hands clutching some of the threads tightly, as if he wanted to tear them all apart.

In the upper left corner of the pattern, a line of vertical letters formed a pattern, ancient and mysterious—[JOKER]

This was a playing card, a gray "King".

"This is..." Jian Changsheng's pupils shrank slightly when he saw this playing card.

He had once been an Enforcer of Aurora City. Even if his status was low, he had heard that there was an organization that used playing cards as code names... The existence of that organization was a taboo, and their danger and madness made all domains feel threatened.

The moonlight flickered, and the projection of the playing card was gently flipped. On the pattern on the back of the card, a line of small characters slowly emerged:

"Survival, or death?"

Seeing this line of characters, Jian Changsheng's heart was shaken. He finally realized what he was facing... That taboo organization was actually watching him?

Why?

Although it was just being watched, not an opportunity to join, there were definitely not many people who could be watched by them. Jian Changsheng had long heard that the Twilight Society had few members and would not easily accept newcomers. A [Shura] path would naturally not be the reason for being watched... People on this path were rare, but there were still a few in Aurora City, not to mention he was just a newcomer who had just stepped onto the divine path.

Then why did they notice him, who had been locked in a dungeon?

Because of his will that withstood four rounds of soul-shattering evidence gathering? Or because of something else about him?

Jian Changsheng didn't understand, but he didn't need to understand, because the answer in front of him was obvious... Survival or death? How could he choose the latter?

He spoke hoarsely and firmly, almost without hesitation:

"I want to live."

The moment these three words were spoken, the poker projection on the ground faded and dissipated... No answer, no anomaly, nothing happened, as if everything just now was just Jian Changsheng's hallucination.

In the dead darkness, Jian Changsheng sat quietly in the center of the dungeon, looking at the corner of moonlight that represented salvation, as motionless as a statue.

……

Creak—

The door of the house opened slowly. Chen Ling followed Chu Muyun into a spacious Chinese-style courtyard.

"Is this your home?" Chen Ling asked in surprise, his eyes scanning the rockery, garden, and the pavilions and towers not far away. "You have such a large property in Aurora City?"

Chen Ling was truly shocked. The last time he saw a courtyard of this scale was when he visited the Suzhou gardens in his past life... At that time, he even paid a 70-yuan ticket to enter.

This kind of courtyard would be expensive in the Seven Districts, and in Aurora City, it was definitely a wealthy family. He had thought that Chu Muyun, as a hidden Twilight Society member, would live in a dark and remote corner. He didn't expect him to live so openly in such a mansion, high-profile beyond his expectations.

Bai Ye followed from behind with his arms crossed, smiling.

"The people Dr. Chu usually contacts are the high-level officials and celebrities of Aurora City. Those people, in order to seek health and longevity, are all queuing up with large sums of money waiting for our Dr. Chu to perform his magic. Otherwise, why would I always be by this guy's side?

This guy is the only member we have in Aurora City who has high status, heavy assets, and can squander openly... It's much better to take advantage of his benefits than to hide in a dark corner."

Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses and explained unhurriedly, "There are many people in the Twilight Society who are more capable than me. It's just that I have been lurking in the Aurora domain for a long time and have accumulated some foundation."

After speaking, he looked at Chen Ling as if he remembered something.

"After this incident, your original identity can no longer be used. Perhaps you should consider arranging a brand-new identity for yourself in Aurora City... This shouldn't be difficult for you."